Sandra Bland mentioned previous suicide attempt; voicemail left from jail surfaces

HEMPSTEAD, TX -- Sandra Bland told a guard during the booking process that she had tried to kill herself in the past following the loss of a baby, according to several sources.

Documents filled out for Bland indicate she had previously attempted suicide. But the booking papers released Wednesday by Waller County also indicate Bland did not have suicidal thoughts at the time of her arrest and that neither the arresting officer nor anyone else at the jail believed she was at risk. The documents also contain discrepancies.

One questionnaire says Bland took pills in 2015 in an attempt to kill herself after losing the baby. A separate form filled out by another jail employee says the suicide attempt occurred in 2014. One form indicates Bland had suicidal thoughts within the past year, another says that's not the case.

The attorney representing Bland's family, Cannon Lambert, said relatives have no evidence that she ever attempted suicide or had been treated for depression.

Bland was arrested July 10 and was found dead three days later. A medical examiner has ruled her death suicide by hanging. Her family and friends dispute the finding. Texas Rangers and the FBI are investigating.

Her family has said she was not despondent and was looking forward to starting a new job at her alma mater, Prairie View A&M University.

However, Bland posted a video to her Facebook page in March, saying she was suffering from "a little bit of depression as well as PTSD," or post-traumatic stress disorder. At least one friend has said she was just venting after a bad day.

In Chicago, Bland's relatives held a news conference to discuss video of the arrest taken from the officer's dashcam, which shows him drawing a stun gun and threatening Bland when she refuses to follow his orders.

Bland's family says she was not acting suicidal. Lambert said Wednesday that Bland had just bought groceries and was ecstatic about her new job when she was pulled over.

The roadside encounter swiftly escalated into a shouting confrontation, with the officer holding the weapon and warning Bland, "I will light you up," for not getting out of her vehicle.

"I'm disgusted we even have a discussion about an autopsy because she was pulled over for something so insignificant and because of an officer who felt like maybe his ego was bruised," said Bland's sister, Sharon Cooper. "If you tell me you're going to light me up, I won't get out of the car."

The video posted online Tuesday by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows the trooper, who is white, stopping Bland for failing to signal a lane change. After he hands her a written warning, the trooper remarks that Bland seems irritated. The Illinois woman replies that she is irritated because she had changed lanes to make way for the trooper's car.

The conversation quickly turns hostile when the officer asks Bland to put out her cigarette and she asks why she can't smoke in her own car. The trooper then orders Bland to get out of the vehicle. She refuses, and he tells her she is under arrest.

Further refusals to get out bring a threat from the trooper to drag her out. He then pulls out a stun gun and makes the threat about lighting Bland up.

When she finally steps out of the vehicle, the trooper orders her to the side of the road. There, the confrontation continues off-camera, but it is still audible. The two keep yelling at each other as the officer tries to put Bland in handcuffs and waits for other troopers to arrive.

Still off camera, Bland can be heard protesting her arrest, repeatedly using expletives and calling the officer a "pussy." She screams that he's about to break her wrists and complains that he knocked her head into the ground.

While in Texas, Bland was staying with a friend, for whom she left a voicemail from jail shortly before she was found dead in her cell.

"Hey this is me," Bland says in the message. "I'm, um, I just was able to see the judge. I don't really know. They got me set at a $5,000 bond. I'm still just at a loss for words honestly about this whole process, how the switching lanes with no signal turned into all of this, I don't even know. But I'm still here, so, I guess call me back when you can."

Relatives and friends say they are waiting for results of the investigation before proceeding with any legal action.

Her death comes after nearly a year of heightened national scrutiny of police and their dealings with black suspects, especially those who have been killed by officers or die in police custody.

In response to questions about gaps and overlaps in the video, authorities said the footage was not edited or manipulated.

Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said glitches occurred in the recording when it was uploaded for public viewing. He said the agency will repost the video.

Bland's death has resonated on social media, with posts questioning the official account and featuring the hashtags #JusticeForSandy and #WhatHappenedToSandyBland. Others referred to #SandySpeaks, the hashtag Bland used in monologues she posted on Facebook in which she talked about police brutality and said she had a calling from God to speak out against racism and injustice.

The trooper, who has been on the force for just over a year, has been placed on administrative leave for violating unspecified police procedures and the Department of Public Safety's courtesy policy. The agency would not address questions about whether the trooper acted appropriately by drawing his stun gun or trying to pull Bland out of the vehicle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.